Project Description

Engineering & Music Program Inspiring Rising Entrepreneurs

The Engineering & Music Program Inspiring Rising Entrepreneurs (EMPIRE) program is a 10-month training program for at-risk youth (ages 12-17) living in San Diego. Through valuable hands-on experience, participants are taught how to build and manage their own music industry or multimedia business by learning about studio engineering, graphic design, relevant STEM fundamentals (Science Technology Engineering Math), and the operation a multimedia business. Credible messengers from Paving Great Futures use multimedia as a tool to mentor and teach the six core competencies.

Carefully Designed

EMPIRE is designed for young people who are at risk of becoming involved in gang-related criminal activity, substance abuse, human sex trafficking, incarceration, homelessness, and violence. Participants are young people from low income and high crime areas in San Diego, including individuals with minor intellectual and behavioral disabilities.

Essential Access To Sustenance (EATS)

Studies show that it is highly ineffective training and educating youth when they may be suffering from starvation. Therefore EMPIRE includes a free food service component. The campus where EMPIRE operates has a food pantry and kitchen, and PGF provides free non-perishable groceries to program participants and any other students that may need food for their home. Working in conjunction with the San Diego Food Bank, PGF helps mitigate this burden of chronic poverty.

EMPIRE Final Project

At the conclusion of the school year EMPIRE participants will organize a cumulative final project in the form of the San Diego Youth Hip Hop & Leadership Summit. This event brings together everything the participants learned in the previous year. It is held at San Diego State University and impacts the lives of one hundred young people by using hip hop as a conduit for valuable life skills.

Location

EMPIRE will hold its mentoring and training courses at a multimedia studio located at Bell Junior High School, 620 Briarwood Rd, San Diego, CA, 92139.